Little Green Men (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Little Green Men" is an episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, the seventh episode of the fourth season. It is rated 4.3/5 on the official Star Trek Website.
receives a shuttle that his cousin Gaila has been promising him for years. He christens it Quark's Treasure and for its maiden voyage takes his brother Rom
and nephew Nog to Earth, where Nog has been accepted to Starfleet Academy
in San Francisco
. Quark also intends to make the trip financially profitable by smuggling a load of kemocite to Orion on the return voyage.
As the ship nears Earth, Rom finds that due to sabotage by Gaila they are unable to drop out of warp
. However by using part of unstable kemosite to create an explosion they can drop out of warp. Unfortunately in doing so the ship and crew are thrown back in time to July, 1947 and crash land near Roswell, New Mexico
. The Ferengi awake on a U.S. military base, where the Americans believe them to be Martians
. After Rom repairs their malfunctioning universal translators
, Quark begins negotiations with the humans, whom he considers backward and gullible, to sell advanced technology from the future. He brags to Rom and Nog in private that "within a year we'll be running this planet", and dreams cultivating to a vast Ferengi economic empire.
Unbeknownst to the Ferengi however, Constable Odo had traveled to Earth with them and of course was also thrown back in time. Using his shape shifter abilities, Odo is able to move about the base locating and repairing their spacecraft. He then appears as a German Shepherd Guard Dog
in the room where the Feregi are being held, and morphs into his normal form, telling Quark that he knew about the kemocite smuggling, and that they must try to preserve the timeline and not alter Earth history. Quark, Rom, and Nog then escape from custody with the help of an Army nurse and her college professor boyfriend (actor Conor O'Farrell
) who has been brought to the base to try and establish dialogue with the aliens.
By harnessing the energy of an atomic bomb test scheduled for that morning, Rom is able to use the remaining kemocite to cause a temporal rift which returns them to their proper time. After dropping off Nog at Starfleet Academy, Quark has to sell the damaged spacecraft for salvage and he, Odo, and Rom return to Deep Space Nine. As the episode ends Odo is seen strong arming Quark off to a holding cell to face charges of smuggling contraband.
such as the base commander, General Denning telling an underling that the whole thing would officially be called the recovery of a "crashed weather balloon
". In another, Quark's spaceship is being held in Hangar 18, a building famous to UFO aficionados as the place where the U.S. government allegedly held items dealing with crashed alien craft. In a bit of inspired casting, Charles Napier
played General Denning. Some twenty-five years earlier Napier had played the role of Adam, one of the space-age hippies in the original Star Trek
episode The Way to Eden. Another interesting aside, Conor O'Farrell
is cast as a professor brought in to help communicate with the Ferengi. Two years later O'Farrell was a series regular on the NBC show Dark Skies
playing Phil Albano, the second-in-command of Majestic, a super-secret U.S. government force battling aliens that first arrived at Roswell in 1947.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, the seventh episode of the fourth season. It is rated 4.3/5 on the official Star Trek Website.
Plot
QuarkQuark (Star Trek)
Quark is a fictional character in the American television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The character, which was played by Armin Shimerman, was depicted as a member of an extraterrestrial race known as the Ferengi, who are stereotypically ultra-capitalist and only motivated by...
receives a shuttle that his cousin Gaila has been promising him for years. He christens it Quark's Treasure and for its maiden voyage takes his brother Rom
Rom (Star Trek)
Rom is a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is played by Max Grodénchik.Rom is a Ferengi, the son of Keldar and Ishka. He is Quark's younger brother, and the father of Nog.-Overview:...
and nephew Nog to Earth, where Nog has been accepted to Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Quark also intends to make the trip financially profitable by smuggling a load of kemocite to Orion on the return voyage.
As the ship nears Earth, Rom finds that due to sabotage by Gaila they are unable to drop out of warp
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
. However by using part of unstable kemosite to create an explosion they can drop out of warp. Unfortunately in doing so the ship and crew are thrown back in time to July, 1947 and crash land near Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
. The Ferengi awake on a U.S. military base, where the Americans believe them to be Martians
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
. After Rom repairs their malfunctioning universal translators
Universal translator
A universal translator is a device common to many science fiction works, especially on television. First described in Murray Leinster's 1945 novella "First Contact", the translator's purpose is to offer an instant translation of any language...
, Quark begins negotiations with the humans, whom he considers backward and gullible, to sell advanced technology from the future. He brags to Rom and Nog in private that "within a year we'll be running this planet", and dreams cultivating to a vast Ferengi economic empire.
Unbeknownst to the Ferengi however, Constable Odo had traveled to Earth with them and of course was also thrown back in time. Using his shape shifter abilities, Odo is able to move about the base locating and repairing their spacecraft. He then appears as a German Shepherd Guard Dog
German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
in the room where the Feregi are being held, and morphs into his normal form, telling Quark that he knew about the kemocite smuggling, and that they must try to preserve the timeline and not alter Earth history. Quark, Rom, and Nog then escape from custody with the help of an Army nurse and her college professor boyfriend (actor Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell is an American actor mainly appearing on television.-Acting career:O'Farrell's most prominent roles are as Darren Leopold on daytime soap opera Port Charles, Phil Albano on the short lived science fiction series Dark Skies and as Jeffrey McKeen on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene...
) who has been brought to the base to try and establish dialogue with the aliens.
By harnessing the energy of an atomic bomb test scheduled for that morning, Rom is able to use the remaining kemocite to cause a temporal rift which returns them to their proper time. After dropping off Nog at Starfleet Academy, Quark has to sell the damaged spacecraft for salvage and he, Odo, and Rom return to Deep Space Nine. As the episode ends Odo is seen strong arming Quark off to a holding cell to face charges of smuggling contraband.
Arc significance
- Nog has been accepted at Starfleet Academy (cf. "Heart of Stone", "Facets") and begins his studies.
Production notes
Throughout the episode several references are made to the real life 1947 Roswell UFO incidentRoswell UFO incident
The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
such as the base commander, General Denning telling an underling that the whole thing would officially be called the recovery of a "crashed weather balloon
Weather balloon
A weather or sounding balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde...
". In another, Quark's spaceship is being held in Hangar 18, a building famous to UFO aficionados as the place where the U.S. government allegedly held items dealing with crashed alien craft. In a bit of inspired casting, Charles Napier
Charles Napier
Charles Napier may refer to:*Charles Elers Napier , British naval officer*Sir Charles James Napier , British general*Sir Charles Napier , Scottish admiral of the Royal Navy...
played General Denning. Some twenty-five years earlier Napier had played the role of Adam, one of the space-age hippies in the original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode The Way to Eden. Another interesting aside, Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell is an American actor mainly appearing on television.-Acting career:O'Farrell's most prominent roles are as Darren Leopold on daytime soap opera Port Charles, Phil Albano on the short lived science fiction series Dark Skies and as Jeffrey McKeen on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene...
is cast as a professor brought in to help communicate with the Ferengi. Two years later O'Farrell was a series regular on the NBC show Dark Skies
Dark Skies
Dark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episodes, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files on Fox proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC commissioning this...
playing Phil Albano, the second-in-command of Majestic, a super-secret U.S. government force battling aliens that first arrived at Roswell in 1947.